Sarajevo: Where Viennese Melange meets Turkish Coffee

I had never been to any of the Balkan countries before, so the SWISS airlines sale was a welcome opportunity to arrange a weekend getaway to Sarajevo. I had pictured it noisy, may be not super clean, with busy streets, chaotic traffic and merchants forcing their goods onto you. Boy, was I wrong.

Sarajevo is a unique city of contrasts and a product of its eventful history.

Architecture: If Istanbul and Vienna had a baby…

Architecture changes dramatically as you walk from the east end of the city to the west. You start in the old town, Bascarsija, with a strong Turkish influence, follow the Viennese tram and pass by Viennese grand city houses and finally get further out of the city, home of the Sniper alley, Hotel holiday and communist blocks of Yugoslavia.

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Food: traditional & hearty

Food is very authentic to the region and you will have a harder time as a vegetarian. There is a complete absence of immigrant cuisine from India, China or Mexico. Instead be prepared to have the street lined with Turkish coffee shop, cevapcici, baclava hideouts, and every now and then a Viennese style coffee house.

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We definitely recommend a visit to Sarajevo and encourage you to also take the time to tour around to a few other cities and get the chance to see the fantastic landscapes of the country.